From the Specter of Polygamy to the Spectacle of Postcoloniality: A Response to Bai on Confucianism, Liberalism, and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

Abstract

Confucianism and Same-Sex Marriage, argues for a moderate Confucian position on same-sex marriage, one its legalization and endeavors to use public opinion and social and political policies to encourage heterosexual marriages, and to prevent same-sex marriages from becoming the majority form of marriages 2021, the downright homophobia Confucians in China his rendition “ show[s] a different version of Confucianism that challenges the received perception of Confucianism that it is deeply conservative, a perception that often lies at the core of the rejection of its contemporary relevance, especially by the so-called ‘ liberals ’ in China and elsewhere ” (Bai 2021, 133). Furthermore, Bai claims that his moderate Confucianism is normatively preferrable to “ the typical liberal or individualist position ” of a marriage equality supporter, because the specter of polygamy — the conservative trope of invoking polygamy as a reductio ad absurdum against same-sex marriage — imposes “ a serious challenge ” to liberals but not to moderate Confucians (Bai 2021, 146, 153).